Challenges of the Flourishing of the Corporate University to Higher Education Institutions in Ethiopia

Abstract

As the boundaries between training and education converge and the demand for the services of traditional universities in response to the needs of the workplace increase, the call for the development of the corporate university is increasing worldwide. With this background the paper attempts to review what the corporate university (CU) is, its viability in Ethiopia and the potential challenges it may bring to traditional universities in the country. The review focuses on the assessment of the current situation about CUs and the policy and practice environment for their viability in Ethiopia. It is found that whereas in the West the corporate university has been the domain mainly of the private sector, in Ethiopia it has been that of the public sector. It is concluded that the policy environment in Ethiopia seems to favor the establishment of CUs by private businesses as has been the case in the public sector for decades. Moreover, with the expansion of business and industry in Ethiopia, there is a future for CUs in the private as well as the public sector. Unless private and public higher education institutions address the ever growing and changing training and education needs of organizations, both public and private, CUs will flourish and endanger their future success and market.